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Kermit the Frog, arguably Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, was the star and host of The Muppet Show, played a significant role on Sesame Street, and served as the logo of The Jim Henson Company. He continues to star in the Muppet movies and makes numerous TV appearances. Kermit grew up with thousands of siblings, and has talked occasionally about other members of his family. His childhood adventures were chronicled in the 2002 video Kermit's Swamp Years. Kermit also has a nephew named Robin. Miss Piggy insists that she and Kermit were married in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and that they're very happy. Kermit disagrees, claiming that it was just a movie and that in real life, they have a "professional relationship" (meaning he thinks they're professionals and she thinks they're in a relationship).1988 Good Morning America interview http://www.toughpigs.com/anthlove07.htm Kermit's most well-known catchphrase is "Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here!" He typically introduced acts on The Muppet Show by waving his arms wildly and shouting "Yaaaay!" (a technique he learned from his old acting coach, Mr. Dawson). Kermit has been credited as the writer of three books: For Every Child, A Better World; One Frog Can Make a Difference; and Before You Leap. Character origins The earliest version of Kermit first appeared in 1955 on Sam and Friends, Jim Henson's five-minute puppet show that aired twice daily on WRC-TV. The soon-to-be-famous frog had humble origins, as Henson explained in 1977: "I'd paint the scenery, and Janie would carry it in the station wagon. We made the first Kermit from one of my mother's old coats with Ping-Pong balls for his eyes." "Is This Any Way for Grownups to Make a Living? Yes, for Muppet Masters Jim & Jane Henson", Nellie Blagden, People. November 7, 1977. Kermit was built in March 1955.The Sunday Star, page 5, March 29, 1959, pictured at Jim's Red Book - 1/27/1975 -'Go to Washington put 1st Bert and Ernie in Smithsonian - dinner with Joe Irwin' The character, however, was first copyrighted in 1956. In the early days of the character, Kermit wasn't yet a frog -- he was more of a lizard-like, abstract character. As Henson explained, "Kermit started out as a way of building, putting a mouth and covering over my hand. There was nothing in Kermit outside of the piece of cardboard -- it was originally cardboard -- and the cloth shape that was his head. He's one of the simplest kinds of puppets that you can make, and he's very flexible because of that... which gives him a range of expression." Jim Henson: The Works, Christopher Finch, 1993, Random House, p. 19. In later years, Henson said that Kermit didn't become a frog until the 1971 special The Frog Prince, Henson agreed with the interviewer's statement that Kermit was first a frog in The Frog Prince in a 1982 interview conducted by Judy Harris for a feature in Cinefantastique. Jim claimed this on UK TV Show 'Wogan' on 06/12/85. Henson and Kermit also made this claim in a 1990 appearance on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee . a claim that made its way into the 1993 book Jim Henson: The Works. Jim Henson: The Works, Christopher Finch, 1993, Random House, p. 49. "The Frog Prince, which for the first time featured Kermit as a frog, was very much in the same idiom as Hey Cinderella!" However, Kermit's froghood asserted itself as early as 1965, when Johnny Carson referred to him as "Kermit the Frog" on a December 31st Tonight Show appearance.Video on YouTube.com (Accessed February 17, 2010.) The 1966 Montgomery Wards catalog which featured the Ideal Muppet puppets refers to Kermit as a "fanciful frog". Kermit refers to himself as a frog in the 1968 special The Muppets on Puppets. The special Hey Cinderella!, which was recorded in 1968,Jim Henson: The Works, Christopher Finch, 1993, Random House, p. 244. featured a redesigned Kermit puppet; his round feet were replaced with flippers, and he was given a fringed collar with thirteen points.Jim Henson's Red Book entry which discusses Kermit's evolution By the time that Kermit appeared on the Sesame Street Pitch Reel, he was a full-fledged frog. Kermit sported a double collar for a brief period in the early 1970s, including in the TV special The Frog Prince and several early seasons of Sesame Street, but by the time he took over as the level-headed but often exasperated host of The Muppet Show, it was changed to the trademark single collar with eleven points that he still wears today. Big Article Small Article Medium Article Article with few images